Slippery Rock University

As companies like Nike and New Balance race to bring the best running shoe to market, athletes must keep pace with the variety of options available to them. Luckily, researchers at Slippery Rock University are taking steps to measure the benefits of the new footwear in an effort to share findings that shoe companies rarely share with the public. A faculty-student research team in the SRU Exercise Science and Rehabilitative Sciences Department is conducting a study of the latest carbon-plated running shoes to see how well they're helping runners hit their strides.

In previous years, Slippery Rock University conducted a Celebration of Achievement with an awards ceremony that recognized students and faculty and student for their outstanding contributions in the areas of academics, research, scholarship, creative activities and more. While the celebration will continue this year, due to the coronavirus pandemic, it will come in the form of a video presentation rather than an on-campus ceremony. But that alteration won't deter from the tremendous achievements of the group of honorees.

Earlier this month, Slippery Rock University provided surplus personal protection equipment to local hospitals and first responders in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, the University is taking those efforts one step further by making its own supplies from scratch through the use of 3D printers. Eight 3D printers from various SRU departments have been used to create more than 100 face shields. The printers were delivered to the homes of faculty members for them to create plastic frames that, when affixed with 8.5-by-11-inch clear plastic sheets, produced the face shields.

When you think of a laboratory, do beakers full of bubbling liquids, white coats and goggles come to mind? Well, a new class at Slippery Rock University is changing that stereotype. In fact, its lab features cups of espresso, whipped cream and a brick-walled cafe on Main Street. Rather than going to a coffee shop to sip lattes and use the free Wi-Fi, students in the Food and Beverage Operations class at SRU are learning the restaurant industry and developing a partnership with owners of the soon-to-be-opened Rooster's Coffee Bar in Slippery Rock.

Whether it comes from an Army solider, a naval shipman or other member of the military, we've all heard that familiar refrain about heeding the "call to service." But what happens after they've completed their commitments or have retired from active duty yet still hear the call? If you're Maurice Lee, you answer by becoming a teacher through Slippery Rock University's Troops to Teachers program.

Jayla Brown feels right at home in a nursing home, which makes the recent visitation restrictions caused by the coronavirus pandemic difficult to fathom. It's not just because she worked as a nursing home aide when she was in high school, or that she comes from a family of nurses. For her, it's the feeling of helping others, hearing their stories and forming relationships that keep her grounded.

When incoming freshmen at Slippery Rock University signed up last spring for a new course called "Spotlight on the Past: Pandemic," they had no idea the 2020 spring semester class would also shine light on the present, with the current coronavirus outbreak resulting in a global pandemic. "My students must think I'm psychic," said Lia Paradis, associate professor of history, who teaches two sections of the 100-level liberal studies course. "It's just a bizarre coincidence that I am teaching this brand-new course right now."

Stephanie O'Donnell will be the toast of the town in Pittsburgh Saturday. O'Donnell, a Slippery Rock University freshman exercise science major from Irwin, was named the 2020 Miss Smiling Irish Eyes by the Pittsburgh St. Patrick's Day Parade Committee. O'Donnell will be among the most honored participants in the city's annual St. Patrick's Day Parade, which will take place 10 a.m., March 14, in downtown Pittsburgh.

How does a university keep its students engaged during a time when classes have gone completely online and everyone is practicing social distancing? That's the question a team of Slippery Rock University staff and students recently asked themselves in an effort to keep students involved with the University during the coronavirus pandemic.

The name of the Media Project Management course at Slippery Rock University describes exactly what students are doing during the semester: managing media projects. But this senior-level capstone course for communication majors is developing skills for more than just students because of an emphasis on service-learning. Community partners who are serving as real-world clients, and even the professor of the class, are also benefitting from their experience.

Theresa Phipps, a Slippery Rock University associate professor of accounting, economics and finance, shares her thoughts on a new IRS Tax Withholding Estimator, which allows taxpayers to figure out the amount of income tax they must withhold from wages and pension payments.

While most students are "buzzing" about campus preparing for midterms, a group of Slippery Rock University theatre majors can be found rehearsing for their production of "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee" with performances at 7:30 p.m., Feb. 28-29 and March 3-5 and a 2 p.m., March 1 matinee.

Two Slippery Rock University students will put their lessons in civil discourse into practice this week as they prepare to debate counterparts from the Japanese National Debate Team at 6:30 p.m., Feb. 27 in the Vincent Science Center Auditorium.

As Sydney Kresconko reads aloud from the pages of children's books while leading "Story Time" at the Slippery Rock Community Library, none of the children know that she recently turned the page on a scary conflict in her own life: overcoming State 4 lymphoma. Now cancer-free, Kresconko is interning at the SRCL as she prepares to be a child life specialist.

A team of Slippery Rock University students are working with a software engineer to secure robot operating systems in response to companies that are rushing to stay ahead of the demand for products that use artificial intelligence.

Fifteen Slippery Rock University Flute Studio students will be taking stage with a group of junior and senior high school students when the SRU Music Department host the 6th Annual Honors Flute Ensemble concert, 7 p.m., Feb. 23 at Swope Music Hall.

SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. -- "Growth Through the Years" is a fitting theme for the 2020 Slippery Rock University Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance Mini-Convention. The SRUAHPERD Mini-Convention, a professional development conference for health and physical education teachers, will celebrate the event's 50th anniversary, March 25 at Morrow Field House.

Danielle Blide has the opportunity to continue giving back to the community as one of five freshmen in the Bonner Leader Program at Slippery Rock University. Bonner students receive a scholarship and are paid to lead a community-service partnership for the University.

While most students used winter break as an opportunity to relax and recharge, a group of Slippery Rock University dancers were on the move with a variety of rehearsals in preparation for the SRU Winter Showcase, "State of Being." Performances are at 2 p.m. and 6:30 p.m., Feb. 9 at Butler County Community College's Succop Theater.

A group of Slippery Rock University students had an eye-opening experience in Costa Rica learning about the Central American country's social and environmental issues and taking in its picturesque beauty. Seventeen SRU students traveled to Costa Rica, Jan. 2-12, as part of the Leadership Abroad program led by the Office of Student Engagement and Leadership.

Slippery Rock University dance student Olivia Barner studied the dance technique of improvisation after receiving a grant to attend the Creative Process Research Winter Intensive, Jan. 6-10, at New Dialect, a professional contemporary dance company in Nashville, Tennessee.

A faculty-student research team at Slippery Rock University are conducted a study to see how the use of weighted blankets affects the anxiety levels of college students. Weighted blankets have gained popularity as an alternative to medicine for treating anxiety and for people seeking a restful night's sleep.

January is National Mentoring Month, providing an opportunity to recognize Slippery Rock University students like Carol Weber who serve as peer mentors in the Emerging Leadership Experience program.

College classes aren't all fun and games. But some of them can be. At Slippery Rock University, faculty and students are putting a lot of thought into a role-playing game as a way to help students learn. Aksel Casson, assistant professor of anthropology, is leading a project that has students developing a role-playing game called Meet the Neanderthals for anthropology and archeology classes. Casson and his students began developing the game after Casson studied active learning pedagogies alongside SRU history professors last year, some of whom are creating role-playing games based on a concept called Reacting to the Past.

Unstable. That's one way to describe the first years of Melissa Lopez's life. Born in Troy, Michigan, to Mexican immigrants, Lopez was barely old enough to remember the day her father was deported, but she does. It was her mother's birthday. Fearing further family separation, the family moved several times seeking refuge and a reliable income. To hear her describe that part of her life now seems a contradiction to the stable environment she's found at Slippery Rock University. She's not one to complain. In fact, Lopez looks at her past more as a guide to help others rather something that happened to her.

Slippery Rock University has announced its dean's list for the fall 2019 semester. The dean's list consists of SRU undergraduate students who earned an adjusted semester grade-point average of 3.5 or higher, based on a schedule of at least 12 newly attempted and earned credits.

Usually, the only places one can access old yearbooks are from a library or, for alumni, by rummaging through storage bins in the attic or at a flea market. That will soon change at Slippery Rock University. Bailey Library is scheduled to digitize the entire collection of the Saxigena, SRU's former yearbook, and make them available online by the end of the spring 2020 semester.

When walking through downtown Pittsburgh, most people are accustomed to the sounds of roaring crowds emanating from PNC Park or Heinz Field, the hissing of the Point State Park Fountain and generations of Pittsburghese. However, if one were to take stroll near the Children's Museum of Pittsburgh on select Saturday mornings, they would hear music being made by Slippery Rock University students and faculty as part of the museum's "Music Maker" sessions. The program, introduced in the fall, seeks to enrich the lives of children, and provide developmental support for them, through music.

As a U.S. Army veteran, Devin Kays knows about honoring a commitment. Having already completed his service in honor of his country, he's now honoring a promise he made to his family by graduating from Slippery Rock University. Kays, a senior safety management major from Grove City, is unlike most of the 525 students receiving degrees at SRU's winter commencement ceremony, 11 a.m., Dec. 14, in the Morrow Field House. Kays, who is already employed and not seeking a new career, will receive his bachelor's degree to keep a promise he made when his sister, Megan Kays, passed away nearly seven years ago.

Senior cadets from Slippery Rock University's Army ROTC program recently received their branch assignments, including Logan Thrush, who was ranked fourth in the nation on the Army's Order of Merit List, which is used to determine the cadets' order of preference.